


You are You. Now, Isn't That Pleasant?

by archiveofourscone



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora tries to find her style, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Post-Finale, Post-Series, a lil bit of angst, and Catra is on the search for a hairstyle that works for her, just for a second there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:00:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28657608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archiveofourscone/pseuds/archiveofourscone
Summary: “Maybe it’s time to try something new,”Glimmer told Adora, putting the pile of clothes in Adora’s arms,“I think it’s time to put some casual clothes into the mix.”After the war is finally done and there's relative peace across the universe, Adora can focus on expanding her wardrobe to include something other than tactical clothes, and Catra's tries to figure out what she's supposed to do with her hair now that it's growing out.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 27
Kudos: 162





	You are You. Now, Isn't That Pleasant?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bobina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobina/gifts).



> _"You are you. Now, isn't that pleasant?"_ ~Dr. Suess
> 
> Firstly, I would like to say that if you enjoy this fic, you can thank kasadilla11 (she's Bobina here on AO3), because I asked her for prompts just to get back into writing, but when she read this, she thought I should post it, so here it is. I would also like to thank her for 1.) giving me prompts when asked, and 2.) for reading my fics and liking them.
> 
> Anyway, I had a lot of fun writing this, and it was really fun to do, and I hope you have as much fun reading it.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Adora,” Catra calls, the last syllable drawn out, and she slumps into the soft chair they keep by their dresser, her leg kicked over the arm, “We’re going to be late, and you’re the one who’s obsessed about being on time.”

“I know! I know. It’s just-” Adora looks in the mirror, her hands coming up to smooth down some flyaways. She cut it a few days ago, and the fact that it only comes down to her shoulders still feels a bit strange. At least having it half up makes her feel a bit like her old self.

The issue isn’t the hair, though. It’s the clothes that Glimmer gave her to try on.

“ _Maybe it’s time to try something new,_ ” Glimmer told her, putting the pile of clothes in Adora’s arms earlier, “ _I think it’s time to put some casual clothes into the mix._ ”

While Adora agrees that it might be time to hang up her old jacket and tactical clothes, she isn’t sure that this outfit is what will be replacing it. It’s tight, but not like her old clothes. Her old soldier’s outfit was tight to allow for movement; she’s not even sure she can move in the clothes Glimmer gave her, and she’s really not sure purple is her color.

So, yeah, she isn’t quite sure if she likes how it looks, and she’s about a hundred percent sure she looks as uncomfortable as she feels.

“Just what?” Catra asks, and the softness in Catra’s voice eases some of Adora’s nerves.

Adora steps out of their closet. “I’m just not really sure how much I like it.”

Of all the reactions she expected from Catra, laughing was not top of the list. It wasn’t even top ten, and yet, Catra’s laughing that high, squeaky laugh that Adora usually loves when it isn’t directed at her.

“This isn’t helping,” Adora says, her arms coming around to hug herself to try and hide.

“You look so uncomfortable,” Catra says through a snort, tears gathering in her eyes.

Adora grabs one of the pillows from their bed and chucks it at Catra, hitting her square in the face. Catra sputters and falls off of the chair with a thump, but she’s still laughing. 

“You’re a jerk,” Adora says, throwing any pillow she can grab at Catra, and Catra’s arms come up in defense, her laughter softening into giggles.

“Adora,” Catra deflects another pillow, and she’s not expecting another quick attack, and the soft pillow smacks her in the face, “Adora, stop.”

The pillows stop, but only because Adora runs out of ammo, and Catra picks herself off of the floor.

Adora’s back to hugging herself, and Catra wraps her tail around Adora’s thigh before her hands come up to Adora’s shoulders. “I don’t think this is the outfit,” Catra says, fighting back a smile.

“You could’ve just _said_ that,” Adora mumbles.

“Oh, come on,” Catra rolls her eyes, “You didn’t need me to tell you that. You obviously don’t like it.”

“But I’m trying it.”

“Well, you tried it,” Catra’s hand runs up from Adora’s shoulder to her cheek, and Adora leans into the contact, “We know this isn’t a winner. Do you want to change before we go?”

Adora pulls Catra into a hug, holding her tight. “We’ll be late,” Adora whispers, a hand running up into Catra’s short hair.

“Then we’ll blame it on me,” Catra pulls away and gives Adora a quick kiss, “Now go get changed into something that doesn’t make you look like you want to die.”

~*~

Melog brushes up against Catra’s legs as she lingers in the bathroom, watching her reflection in the mirror. 

Her hair is finally starting to grow out, but it’s still too short to do anything with. After sleeping, it seems to stick up in all directions, and Catra has tried everything to tame it but nothing works.

She doesn’t know what else to do. Her mane has been long and unruly since she was a kid, but she’s never had to deal with anything like this before. 

Bow suggested some gel that makes Catra’s mane hard and stiff, and Glimmer just shrugged and asked, “ _Have you tried brushing it?_ ”

Adora just smiles and messed Catra’s hair up more, and when Catra tackled her to the ground, she laughed and said, “ _It’s really not as bad as you think._ ”

Catra runs her fingers through her hair and tries patting down one spot sticking straight up.

Melog nudges her again, and Catra runs a hand over their head.

“ _You’re bothered,_ ” Melog says through their connection, and even though it’s been a while since Catra and the others found Melog on Krytis, their connection still feels a little strange, especially knowing everyone else only hears meows.

“What gave you that idea?” Catra asks sarcastically.

“ _Why are you bothered?”_ Melog pushes, their nose nudging at Catra’s hand.

“I-” Catra takes a deep breath and looks at herself in the mirror again, “I don’t really know. I mean, I _do_ , but I don’t.”

Melog tilts their head curiously.

“My hair has never been this short,” Catra answers Melog’s silent question, “And this wasn’t my decision.”

_A clone pulls her from the pool, and Catra can still feel the electricity coursing through her skin. She thinks that it feels familiar, but all of her memories feel just out of reach, like she’s trying to grasp at them but they’re just past her fingertips._

_“Little sister,” Horde Prime tilts Catra head up with a metal claw, and Catra’s sure she would collapse if the clones on either side weren’t holding her up, “What a hard life you led, but that is all over now. My light has wiped it all away.”_

_Another clone steps up behind her, its hand grabbing her hair and cutting off a chunk._

_“You will be brought into the hive mind,” Horde Prime says like a promise, “You will bring She-Ra to me.”_

_The rest of her hair comes off in chunks._

Melog’s nose nudges her again, pulling her out of the hazy memory, and Catra shakes her head to get rid of the last dregs of it before taking a deep breath.

“I thought I was fine,” Catra says softly, “I thought I had gotten used to it, but now my hair is growing out, and I should be happy, but it’s a lot.”

Her fingers run through her hair again, taming it for just a moment.

“I didn’t know I’d miss it so much.”

“ _It was a part of you,_ ” Melog says gently, jumping up onto their hind legs so their paws are on Catra’s shoulders so that they can nuzzle Catra’s cheek.

“I know.”

“ _I may have a solution for it at this stage_.”

“Okay?”

Melog starts licking Catra’s mane, flattening the errant strands for just a moment before they pop up again, and Catra shoves them away, but they pounce on her, her back hitting the tile. Melog keeps licking her hair and her face, and Catra brings her arm up to try and stop them, laughing at Melog’s insistence to fix her hair.

The door to the bathroom opens, and Melog turns to see Adora smiling down at them.

“Everything okay in here?” Adora asks, crossing her arms.

“ _I was helping_ ,” Melog answers, but it comes out as meows for Adora.

Even still, Adora seems to understand. Her and Melog have come up with some kind of communication system that even Catra doesn’t really understand. 

“I don’t really think it worked, Melog,” Adora says with a smirk, pointing to the bits of Catra’s hair still sticking up.

“You have to admit they tried their hardest,” Catra shoves Melog off of her, pulling herself up, “Even if it covered me in alien spit.”

“You might want to take a shower,” Adora says, petting Melog as they move past her.

“Yes, thank you. I’m aware,” Catra pulls her shirt over her head and throws it at Adora’s face, “Out, please.”

“Maybe the water will finally tame it,” Adora jokes, leaving the bathroom.

~*~

Catra has been in meetings all day, and she’s sure that if the ambassador from Chandrakant doesn’t shut up, she’s going to grab Glimmer’s staff and send it through someone’s head. They keep insisting on seeing She-Ra even though they have been told over and over that She-Ra is currently off-world. 

“How are we supposed to get behind a movement when we can’t even meet the leader,” the ambassador says, smacking their palms down on the table.

Catra is about to lash out, but Glimmer puts a hand on her shoulder and stands. “As we’ve explained about ten times,” Glimmer says, her teeth gritting against the mounting frustration, “She-Ra is not the leader, and Adora is currently on a diplomatic trip to Skyhaven.”

“Is She-Ra not the one who returned the magic?” The ambassador seems smug as they ask their rhetorical question.

Catra seems Glimmer clench her hand into a fist, and she figures it’s her time to take over.

“She-Ra is the only one able to return magic, yes, but it was and is a small group of Etherians who continue to do the work,” Catra says, keeping her words measured to hide the frustration boiling under the surface, “We understand why you would want to meet She-Ra, but that’s just not a possibility right now.”

The ambassador keeps arguing, but Catra tunes it out as her tracker pad vibrates against the table.

It’s a message from Adora saying her and Bow just landed, and she sent a quick message that reads, “ _Ambassador insists on meeting She-Ra. SOS._ ”

Adora only takes a few minutes, and she comes in as She-Ra, her sword notably absent but with the same bravado that makes Catra roll her eyes.

With the ambassador’s request fulfilled, the meeting quickly comes to an end, and one of the guards leads the ambassador on a tour of Bright Moon’s castle. 

Glimmer groans, her head thunking against the table, and Catra slumps into her chair.

“Rough meeting?” Adora asks, She-Ra melting away as she leans up against the back of Catra’s chair.

“Nothing was accomplished!” Glimmer yells into the table.

“They just kept saying they wanted to speak to you, She-Ra the leader,” Catra complains, “As if the rest of us didn’t help rebuild after Prime was defeated.”

“Maybe they’ll shut up about it now that they’ve met me?” Adora’s hand comes down and runs along Catra’s ear.

“I doubt it,” Glimmer says, turning her head so her cheek is smushed against the table.

Catra sees Glimmer’s eyes find Adora, and then she starts laughing, and Catra turns around to see what’s so funny.

Adora is in some version of Catra’s old outfit from the Horde, the one she wore before pulling the lever for the portal. It’s obviously made to fit Adora’s stockier build, and she’s got her old red jacket on over it, but it’s undeniably inspired by her.

“What are you wearing?” Catra asks.

“You don’t like it?” Adora smirks, coming around Catra’s chair so that Catra can see that Adora is even barefoot like she would be, “I’ve been trying to find my style, and I thought I should try going in another direction.”

“You look ridiculous,” Catra’s trying to keep a straight face, but humor is starting to push through her unaffected attitude.

Adora sits on the arm of the chair. “I think this might finally be it.”

“I think Adora’s right,” Glimmer says, giggles pushing through the words, then she turns to Adora and says, “Catra’s style really works for you.”

“Do _not_ enable this, Sparkles,” Catra turns and glares at Glimmer.

“Well, no more looking then,” Adora says, her look smug, “I’ll just stick with this, but speaking of stealing styles,” Adora pats Catra’s bangs held back by a few bobbypins, “Is this my hair poof?”

“Pft, no,” Catra shoves Adora’s hand away, “This is just the only way to keep my bangs out of my face for right now.”

“Really?” Adora smiles mischievously and slides so that she’s lying across Catra’s lap, “It looks an awful lot like what _I_ used to do to keep my bangs out of my face.”

Catra’s not used to their positions being switched like this. Normally she’s the one stretched across Adora’s lap with the upper hand, but Adora has her trapped, and when Catra looks at Glimmer for help, Glimmer just makes some excuse about needing to go and disappears in a cloud of sparkles.

_I’m going to get her back for this,_ Catra thinks, her hands wrapping under Adora’s knees so Adora doesn’t fall off, _I don’t know how yet, but it will be swift and brutal._

Adora laughs, drawing Catra’s glare from the now-empty seat to her girlfriend comfortable in her lap.

“You think you’re absolutely hilarious,” Catra says, her voice devoid of any humor.

“I just didn’t realize how much fun you have when you mess with me like this,” Adora says through a smile, “I just wish I could purr so that you could get the full experience.”

Despite refusing to feed into Adora’s teasing, Catra starts purring.

“Well, it’s not me, but it’ll do.” Adora snuggles into Catra’s neck, her nose running up the column of Catra’s throat, adding another layer to her teasing.

“Are you done yet?”

“Only if you get rid of that dumb hair poof.”

Catra snorts, “It was only dumb when you wore it.”

“I don’t know. You look pretty dumb,” Adora starts messing with it again, “I don’t think I ever looked this dumb.”

“Speaking of dumb,” Catra looks down at an outfit she hasn’t seen in years, “Where did you even get this?”

“Bow helped,” Adora says easily, “I told him I wanted to mess with you and he was completely onboard.”

“The betrayal today is staggering.”

“You should really blame the tailors on Skyhaven,” Adora says, “All they needed was a picture and my measurements to make this, and it’s pretty accurate.”

Catra can’t deny that Adora is right. They got everything down to the smallest details, but Catra does notice something missing.

“Well, you should respect my rank at least,” Catra comments, “The Force Captain badge is missing.”

“Let’s discuss things that would get me thrown in prison if worn within Bright Moon’s walls,” Adora says, booping Catra on the nose, and Catra immediately scrunches her nose and gives a little hiss.

“You’re She-Ra,” Catra reasons.

“Even She-Ra isn’t safe,” Adora says with a grave expression.

Catra just snorts. “You’re such an idiot.”

Adora laughs and pushes herself off of Catra’s lap. “Yes, I know,” she offers Catra her hand, “Now let’s go get some lunch.”

“Only if you change out of that.”

“I’ll only change if you get rid of the hair poof.”

Catra sighs and takes the bobbypins out of her hair, her bangs falling down into her eyes.

Adora laughs and asks, “Can you even see?”

“I can see well enough to know that I wore that outfit better.”

Adora pulls Catra up from her seat and out of the meeting room. “Well, it looks like both of us are still looking around then.”

~*~

Adora’s hesitant to try something Glimmer gave her against after the _many_ failed attempts, but this outfit looks promising. 

The shorts are red, and the shirt, a button-up, is white with gold accents. The color scheme looks like a mix of Adora and She-Ra, and there’s even a brown belt to put her pin on, but Adora tries not to get her hopes up. 

All that’s left is to try it on, and it’s the first set of clothes that make Adora feel like herself. They’re casual, but formal enough that Adora could wear them to meetings and around the villages. She thinks she might even be able to fight in them if she ever has to.

She comes out of the closet to see Glimmer with arms crossed and a smug smile. “So?”

Adora grabs her pin off of her old belt and clips it in place, the gold the same color as the accents on the shirt.

“I think I might like it,” Adora admits, turning to look at herself in the mirror on the vanity.

“You love it,” Glimmer says excitedly, “And you look _so_ good!”

Adora fixes her half ponytail and pulls her fingers through the few tangles she’s gotten throughout the day. “I don’t think I look that different,” Adora insists.

“Oh, come on,” Glimmer groans, but then her eyes light up with an idea, and she disappears with a burst of glitter.

Adora assumes Glimmer’s going to be right back, so she just crosses her arms and waits for the soft chimes that let her know Glimmer is about to appear.

She’s not alone though. Catra collapses to her knees and heaves before swiping up at Glimmer, but Adora notices that her claws are sheathed, so the possibility of damage is cut significantly.

Glimmer laughs and hops back, and Catra lunges up to try and tackle Glimmer, but she’s still a little disoriented from teleporting, so she misses.

“That wasn’t even close,” Glimmer taunts, and Catra swipes again, this time catching Glimmer’s cloak and pulling, knocking Glimmer off balance.

“I ask for one thing,” Catra growls, knocking Glimmer onto the floor and pinning her, “ _One_ thing, and it’s that you give me warning before teleporting me anywhere.”

“It was for a good reason,” Glimmer insists, her hand ready to shoot a spray of sparkles if Catra doesn’t let her go.

“It better be,” Catra threatens, “You took me away in the middle of Entrapta explaining her new experiment, and now she’ll have to start over from the beginning!”

Adora figures she could go over and pull Catra off of Glimmer, but based on Catra’s tail swaying gently and Glimmer’s smirk, no one is really going to get hurt.

“Well?” Catra shoves at Glimmer’s face.

“Hey, Catra,” Adora says, walking so that she’s standing right by Glimmer’s head.

Catra looks up, and every bit of annoyance melts from her expression, her eyes going wide.

“Adora needed a second opinion on the new outfit,” Glimmer says, her fist lowering now that Catra isn’t ready to attack, “So, what do you think?”

Catra doesn’t say anything at first, and Adora smirks. It’s not very often that Catra is completely speechless, and Adora can’t deny the small boost to her ego feels nice.

“Told you so,” Glimmer looks up at Adora with that same smug smile from earlier, “You look amazing.”

“Out, Sparkles,” Catra says, picking herself up off of Glimmer and walking up to Adora, her hands coming up to rest on Adora’s hips.

Adora sees Glimmer roll her eyes before she poofs away.

“So,” Adora smiles, “Thoughts?”

Catra’s hand runs along Adora’s belt to the pin, the pads of her fingers running along the smooth metal. “It’s very,” Catra thinks through a list of adjectives, but she finally just settles on, “you.”

“I finally feel comfortable in something that isn’t a soldier’s outfit,” Adora’s hands come up to fix her collar, “The shorts are even the same red as my old jacket.”

“I don’t know if you can call it old if you still wear it all the time,” Catra snarks, smiling up at Adora as she traces some of the golden accent on the shirt.

“Well, it’s comfy,” Adora argues, her hands smoothing out the fabric around her collar before coming down to rest on Catra’s hips.

Catra rolls her eyes but drops the subject. “You look great,” she admits, bringing them back to Adora’s new outfit.

“Thank you,” Adora smiles, leaning forward to push a quick kiss against Catra’s cheek, “Sorry that Glimmer interrupted your time with Scorpia and Entrapta.”

“I have to admit, I’m starting to mind less and less,” Catra says, then brings a hand up to point at Adora and glare, “And if you tell Glimmer I said that, I will deny it until the end of time.”

“Understood,” Adora grabs Catra’s hand that’s pointing at her to press a quick kiss to the inside of Catra’s wrist, “Do you have to get back to Scorpia and Entrapta?”

“Probably,” Catra says a bit reluctantly, “We should go down to the village sometime this weekend, though. We can look around and see if we can get more stuff like this.”

“It’s a date,” Adora gives Catra a quick kiss before nudging her in the direction of the door, “Now go. Tell the Super Pal Trio I say hi.”

“Tell Sparkles to watch her back,” Catra says in goodbye.

~*~

Catra wakes up slowly in the warmth of their room snuggled up to Melog with Adora’s arm around her, and she can tell that Adora’s awake by the way fingers run over the short fur on her stomach. She doesn’t want to wake up yet, though, so she snuggles her face into Melog to block out the early morning light.

A hand brushes the hair at her neck away, and she feels lips on her neck and across her shoulder. The affection pulls purrs from deep in her chest, and Melog responds too, letting out a cute little, “Mrrp,” before their purrs join Catra’s.

Catra rolls onto her back, her eyes opening to see Adora smiling down at her, and Melog rests their front paws and head on Catra’s stomach.

“Good morning,” Adora says softly, her hand coming up to pet Melog before pulling through Catra’s messy mane.

“G’morning,” Catra mumbles, her purrs getting louder as Adora scratches behind her ear.

Melog says a quick, “ _Good morning,_ ” too, pushing up on Catra to nudge their nose against Adora’s cheek. Catra lets out a soft, “Oof,” at the pressure, but Adora giggles, placing a soft kiss against Melog’s nose.

“I still have to breathe, Melog,” Catra complains, shoving Melog enough so that they’re no longer pushing against her ribs.

“ _I needed to be closer,_ ” Melog reasons.

“So walk around next time.”

“ _No_ ,” Melog says simply, licking up Catra’s face.

“Oh, come on!” Catra sputters and pushes their face away, “I just woke up.”

“Well, it looks like I won’t have to argue getting out of bed this morning,” Adora jokes, pressing a kiss under Catra’s ear, “You should probably wash your face.”

“Yes, thank you,” Catra says, and then she smirks and grabs Adora’s face, running her tongue up from Adora’s jaw to her hairline.

“Catra!” Adora tries to stop Catra as she goes in again, “That’s disgusting!”

“It looks like you should wash your face too,” Catra says, her smirk still firmly in place.

Adora throws the blankets off of her onto Catra and gets out of bed. “I didn’t even start this,” Adora grumbles as she walks into their bathroom.

Catra settles back in bed cackling. She hears the water turn on, and she walks back out a few minutes later patting her face dry. 

“You can’t fall back asleep,” Adora says, throwing the towel at Catra’s face, “We have a council meeting this morning.”

Catra rolls onto her stomach, the towel Adora threw falling off of her face. “I won’t miss anything,” Catra mumbles, “We’re just talking about efforts to reverse the environmental effects in the Fright Zone, and that’s really all on Entrapta and Arrow Boy.”

“Talk all you want, but I know you want to know what’s going on,” Adora moves around the room to start getting ready, “Do Bow and Entrapta know you’re the one who checked out all of the books on environmental science from the library?”

“Adora,” Catra growls in warning.

“Get up and get ready, and I won’t have to tell anyone your deep, dark secret,” Adora calls from their closet.

“Ugh, fine,” Catra groans, getting out of bed and stretching, soft pops filling the room. Melog slinks out of bed too, their back arching in their own stretch.

Catra rubs the sleep out of her eyes on the way to the bathroom, and she splashes cold water on her face to wake herself up before turning the knob for warm water and grabbing the soap they leave by the sink. As she scrubs at her cheek, Melog comes in and rubs against her hip, and as Catra grabs a towel to dry herself off, they settle down at her feet.

“Comfy?” Catra asks, grabbing her toothbrush.

“ _The tiles are always warm_ ,” Melog says, their eyes closing, “ _It is nice._ ”

“I’m pretty sure they use magic to warm them,” Catra says before brushing her teeth.

Catra’s trying to tame her hair when Adora joins her in the bathroom, grabbing a hair tie from the counter to put her hair in her usual half-up ponytail.

She watches Catra struggle with her hair for a minute before coming up behind Catra and resting her chin on Catra’s shoulder.

“It’s gotten long,” Adora comments, catching Catra’s eyes in the mirror. 

“Not really,” Catra says, “And it’s still such a pain in the ass.”

“Why don’t you put it up?” Adora suggests, grabbing another hair tie from the counter and offering it to Catra, “It’ll keep it out of your face.”

“The ponytail is kind of _your_ look, isn’t it?” Catra asks, but she takes the hair tie offered to her.

“Just try it,” Adora says, pressing a kick to Catra’s cheek before leaving the bathroom.

She’s clipping her wing pin to her belt when Catra walks out, her hair pulled back in a small poof.

“So?” Adora asks, leaning up against their dresser.

“I might like it,” Catra says, her hand going back to mess with the little poof resting on the crown of her head. 

“You look really cute.”

“Yeah?”

Adora smiles. “Yeah.”

“Well, it keeps my hair out of my face, so I’ll keep it like this,” Catra says in her usual unaffected voice, but she smiles at Adora before turning to their closet.

Later, as they take their seats around the table, Perfuma compliments Catra’s new ponytail, Scopria joining in, and the rest of the previous Princess Alliance compliments Catra before Glimmer brings the meeting to order, and as Glimmer’s talking through their agenda, Adora leans into Catra and whispers, “Told you it looks cute.”

“Your ego is showing,” Catra whispers back, but a blush dusts Catra’s cheek.

“Just admit I’m right.”

“You’re right or whatever,” Catra mumbles, hoping Adora can’t hear her, “Now shut up.”

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that's that! If you enjoyed it, let me know, and if Tumblr is more your speed, you can find me over at hellofromthe-otter-slide.
> 
> Until the next fic!


End file.
